Liverpool to stay at re-developed Anfield

Liverpool has announced it is staying at Anfield instead of moving to a new ground, after city authorities announced plans to regenerate the area around its historic home.

The club's managing director Ian Ayre described the move as a "major step forward" for both Liverpool and local residents, after years of wrangling about whether they should move from the stadium that has been their home since 1892.

And he insisted a multi-million redevelopment of Anfield will enhance the club's transfer market spending power and not diminish it.

Redevelopment of the Main Stand and Anfield Road end is likely to cost an estimated 150million pounds and while nothing has been forthcoming as yet on how this money will be procured Ayre said it would not impact on football matters.

"As we've said, the right solution is the right economic solution," Ayre told liverpoolfc.com.

"More so from it detracting from our spending in the transfer market, the whole point of doing this is to actually increase our revenues.

"If we look at our biggest competitors with a bigger capacity, like Manchester United, Arsenal, their matchday revenues are significantly ahead of ours.

"This whole initiative is designed to generate additional revenues so the ultimate solution has to be one that increases the overall output through the process rather than decreasing it.

"We'll find the right financing solution, the right return on investment to deliver the right amount of additional revenue to support the long-term future of the football club."

Match-day revenues will be significantly increased by bigger crowds and the financial reality was that it could be achieved more cheaply on the current site - Liverpool's home since 1892.

Remaining at Anfield and not building a new ground, costing upwards of 300 million ounds, was always the owners preferred option.

Club owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has a history of updating historic old stadiums as it did a similar thing at Fenway Park, home to baseball's Boston Red Sox, and will now look to do the same on Merseyside.

Redevelopment, made possible by the regeneration plans to clear some streets close to the ground, is subject to planning permission and the support of homeowners and the community - which means plans for a new-build stadium cannot be conclusively consigned to the wastebin until those have been secured.

But planning applications to raise capacity to 60,000 are likely to be submitted next year with building potentially beginning in 2014.

The club's decision to stay put followed an announcement by Liverpool City Council that they had secured a 25-million-pound grant to transform the Anfield area in the city in northwest England, with further investment likely from a public housing association.